Good bacteria that protects against HIV identified

Good bacteria that protects against HIV identified

By growing vaginal skin cells outside the body and studying the way they interact with 'good and bad' bacteria, researchers think they may be able to better identify the good bacteria that protect women from HIV infection and other sexually transmitted infections.

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston by growing vaginal skin cells outside the body and studying the way they interact with "good and bad" bacteria, think they may be able to better identify the good bacteria that protect women from HIV infection and other sexually transmitted infections.

The health of the human vagina depends on a symbiotic/mutually beneficial relationship with "good" bacteria that live on its surface feeding on products produced by vaginal skin cells. These good bacteria, in turn, create a physical and chemical barrier to bad bacteria and viruses including HIV.

A publication released today from a team of scientists representing multiple disciplines at UTMB and the Oak Crest Institute of Science in Pasadena, Calif., reports a new method for studying the relationship between the skin cells and the "good" bacteria.

The researchers are the first to grow human vaginal skin cells in a dish in a manner that creates surfaces that support colonization by the complex good and bad communities of bacteria collected from women during routine gynecological exams. The bacteria communities have never before been successfully grown outside a human.

In reply to #3 by annette williams: Big J’s comments hadn’t come up on my MacBook when I wrote mine, which amounts to the same thing. Sorry BigJ. Journalists never get their microbiology right, do they? Surprising on this site though.

Point of English usage in the title. Bacteria protect, a bacterium protects.